Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1887-01-08
DR.. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE's SUM-
DAY SERMON.
Subject OF Sermon preached at
Cleveland, Ohio: ION Track
How to Get On Again"


my text, sketches the mental operations OF
one who, having stepped aside from the path
OF rectitude, desires to return. With wish
for something better he said: "When shall
awakes " hen shall come out of this horrid
nightmare of iniquityW But, seized upon by
uneradicated habit and forced down hill by
his passions. he cries out: ~ will seek it yet
again. will try iJ once more" Our libra
ries are adorned with an elegant literature
addressed to young men, pointing out to them
oil the dangers and perils of life-complete
maps of the voyage. showing all thu 70 ks,
the quicksands and the shoals. But sup
pose a man has already made spipwreck;
suppose he is already off the track: suppose
he has already gone astray, how is he to get
backl That is field comparatively un-
touched propose to address myself this
morning to such. There are those IN this au-
dien.e who, with every pas ion of their ago
MED soul, are ready to hear such discus
sion They compare themselves with what
they were ten years ago, and cry out from
the bondage in which they are incarcerated.
Now, if there be any in this house, come with
an earnest purpose, yet feeling that they
are beyond the pale OF Christian SYM ny,
and that the sermon can hardly lie expected
to address them. then, at this moment, give
them my right hand and call them brother.
Look up. There is glorious and triumphant
hope for you yet. / sound the trumpet Of
gospel deliverance. The church Is ready to
spread a banquet at your return, and tho
herarchs of heaven to fail into line of ban
nered procession at the news of your eman
ciIation. So far rs God may help me, pro-
pose to show what are the obstacles of your
return, and then how you are to surmount
those obstacles. The first difficulty in the
way of your return is the force of moral
gravitation. just as there il a natural law
which brings down to the earth anything
you throw into the air, SO there is a CORE
spending moral gravitation. In ether words,
tits easier to 60 down than it is to go up: it
is ease to do wrong than it is to do right.
Call to mind the comrades Of your boyhood
days some of them good, some of them bal
which most affected you! Call to mind the
anecdotes that you have heard IN the last five
or ten years-some of them are pure and
some of them impure. Which the more
easily sticks to your memorys During the
years of your life you have formed certain
courses Of condu .t--some of them good,
some of them bad. To which style of habit
did you the more easily yieldl Ali my
friends, we have to take but q momeut
of self-inspection to find out that
there is in all ursouls force of moral gIav-
itation. But that gravitation may be re-
sisted. just as you may pick up frc,n the
earth something and hold it in your nand to-
ward heaven, just so, by the power OF Gods
grace, soul fallen may be lifted toward
peace, toward pardon, toward heaven.
Force of moral gravitation in every one of
us, but power in Gods grace to overcome
that force of moral gravitation. The next
thing in the wayeof your return is the power
of evil habit. l know there are thoss who
say it is very easy for them to give up evil
habits. l do not believe them Hese is
man given to intoxi alton. He knows it is
disgracing his family, de troying his prop
erty, running him, body, mini and soul. II
that man, being an intelligent man and low
ing his family, could easily give up that habit,
would he not do sos The fact that he does
not give it up proves it is hard to give it W.
1t Is q very easy thing to sail down stream,
the tide carrying you with great force: but
suppose you turn the boat up stream, is it SO
easy them to row it, As long as we Weld to
the evil inclination in our hearts and our
bad habits, we are sailing down stream. but
the moment we try to turn, we put our
boat in the rapids inst above Niagara, aud
try to row up stream. Take a man given to
the habit of using tobacco, as most of you
do. and let him resolve to stop, and he finds
1t very difficult. Twenty -ons years AGO /
quit that habit. and l would as soon dare to
put my right hand in the fire as once to in
dulge in it Why's Because it was such
terrible struggle to get over it, Now, let a
man be advised by his physician to give IN
the use of tobacco. He goes around not
knowing what to do with himself. He cam
not add up line of figures. He cannot sleep
nights. 1t seems as il the world had turned
upside down He feels his business is going
to ruin Where he was kind and oblieing
he is scoldi9g and fret'ul. The composure
that characterized him has given way to n
fretful restlessDess, and he has become com
plete fidget. What power is it that has
rolled wave of woe over the earth and
shaken porteut in the heavens9 He has
tried to stop smokingl After a while he
says: II am going to do as please. The
doctor doesn't understand my case I'm po.
ing back to my old habit" And he returns
Everything assumes its usual composure.
His business seems to brighten. The
world becomes an attractive place IN live
in. His children, seeing The differen a hail
the return OF their fathers genial disposition.
What wave of color has oashad blne into the
sky, and greenness into the mountain foliage.
and the glow of sapphire into the sunset
What enchantment has lifted world OF
beauty and joy on his soull He has gone
back to smoking. Oh the fact is, as we ali
know In our experience, that habit is n task.
master; as long as we cbev it. it does nn
chastise us, but let us resist, and we find we
are to be dashed with scorpion whips and
bound with ship cable, and thrown into the
track of bone-breakIng Juggernauts. Dur
ing the war Of 1872 there wa; a ship set on
fire Just above Niagara Falls, and then, cut
loose from its moorings. it ca re on down
through the night and tosse over the falls.
IL was said to have been n scene brilliant be-
yond all description. Well there ars tn ptl-
sands of men on fire of evil habit, coming
hown through the rapids and through the
awful night OF temptation toward the eter-
nal plunge. OIL how hard it is to ar
rest them. God only can arrest them
Suppose a man, after five or ten or twenty
years of evil-doing, resolves to do right
Why, all the forces Of darkness are allied
against him. He cannot sleep nights. he
gets down on his knees in the midnight and
cries: "God help me-" He bites his liz. He
grinds his teeth. He clnches his fist in
determination to keep his purpose. He dare
not look at the bottles in the window OF
wine store. 1t was one Long, bitter. exhaust
i've, hand-to- hand fight with inflamed. tan
taltzing and merciless habit When he
thinks he is entirely free, the old inclinations
pounce upon him like pack OF hounds with
their muzzles tearing away at the TANKS of
oce poor reindeer. In Paris there is a sculp
tured representation of Bacchus the GOD
OF revelry. He is riding on panther
at full leap. Oh, how sugcestiyel ~
every one who is speeding on bad wavs
understand he is not riding a dociIe a3di
well-broken steed but he is riding Iuons,ar
Wild and bloodthirsty, going at a death lean
now many there are who resolve on n hat.
ter life and say: "When shall Iawalss,i
but. seized on by their old habits cry. ~
VIII try it once more; will seek Il vet
again. Years ago there were some Princes
Ton students who were skating, and the ice
was very thin, and some one warnaI tSo
cOmnaNy hack from, fl.o wv